Book One: Pushing Tides
by xMuffinCrumbsx
Summary: Kauri has been ostracized by the people of the southern water tribe for years. The only reason he survived was because of Kya. She kept the whispers at bay. That changed the moment she died. All he's wanted to do then; is leave the south pole. Kya taught him to have faith in his family, but will Sokka and Katara still consider him family when they learn the truth about him?


_**89 AG**_:

Churning and relentless, the snowstorm snapped the flaps of the fur lined tents as flurries of frozen cold spiraled through the black night. The wind was vicious, like a wild beast- except instead of gnashing feral teeth, it instead howled and raged- threatening to drag everything into the obsidian waters with its cold gnarled hands.

The sea lashed out, shattering and frothing at the edges of the massive icebergs that the Southern Water Tribe currently called their home. Among the piercing cry of the wind and the rumbling roar of the ocean- was the wail of an infant.

"Come on Nani, one last push. You can do this!" Kya leaned over between the woman's spread legs, holding furs underneath the upper portion of the infant which was throwing it's chubby balled fists in the air and letting out piercing squeals. The woman giving birth, Nani- let out a wail of her own. Sweat glistening on her brow as her chest heaved for air. With the final cry, the baby was out. With practiced hands, Kanna cut the umbilical cord as Kya quickly shielded the infant from the cold air with more furs.

After going to the wash basin in the corner of the tent and cleaning the babe off with a cloth, Kya came back over to Nani, who was still panting heavily. She offered the woman her swaddled child. "Congratulations Nani." The mother smiled tiredly at her child. "You have a son." The smile abruptly fell from her lips- instead they twisted into a look of horror.

"No." She muttered. "No. No. No. No." She whined, her voiced getting higher pitched with each refusal. "Throw it out in the snow!" She snapped, tears glistening in her dark blue eyes. She flinched when the baby squalled from the noise. "Just, get it away from me!"

Kya rocked the infant in her arms. "Nani-"

"No, no. I held on for long enough, I promised that I would hold out long enough to see what gender it was. I could have done it, if it was a girl- but it's not. The worst has happened. I'm not bringing another monster into the world!" She hissed. "It even looks like- like-" Kanna set a hand on the woman's shoulder as she shielded her face with her hands and sobbed.

Indeed, the child did look like the fire bender that had forced himself upon Nani that day nine months ago. With tufts of dark midnight hair that couldn't possibly be mistaken for any sort of brown, and skin pale as the snow, rather than the warm brown tones native to the Southern Water Tribe.

"Nani-" Kya pleaded again.

She hissed out venomously in return. "No." The woman shivered, as she looked at Kya. Tear tracks marking her face. The woman wrapped her arms around herself, as if that would help ease the cold fear that had taken root in her gut. "Drop it in the snowstorm. It's the only way. The only way I'll have any peace."

Kya looked down at the infant, who's face was scrunched in displeasure at the loud voices. She reached down to smooth the wrinkles in its forehead, pausing as he clasped ahold of her finger with his tiny hand. Her eyes widened, before they softened into something she'd felt twice before. Looking back over to Nani- the woman's eyes flickered between her and Kanna. The elder woman pursed her lips into a stiff frown, no doubt already knowing what she was about to do. She didn't approve.

Kya couldn't afford to care.

"As acting wife of the Chief, I have the ability to adopt people into our tribe. If you won't give this child a home, I will be forced to." Kya replied, part of her filled with guilt. Though this felt like the right thing to do. She wouldn't back down.

Nani's eyes were wide with shock and hurt. Her mouth opened, letting out small blooming breaths of air. Her eyes traveled to the baby in Kya's arms, and Kya could see the bitter resentment already festering there- like an infection in an open wound. Nani's eyes went cold. "It's either it, or me Kya."

"Nani- don't do this." Kanna went to go squeeze the woman's shoulder, but she just shrugged her off.

"It's either it, or me! Decide! Now!" She yelled, shakily standing to her feet. Kya stood as well, cradling the infant as it whimpered. They stared each other down for a long moment, willing one or the other to back down.

Finally, Kya took a deep breath.

"I, wife of Chief Hakoda- use my rights as acting second in command in order to adopt this infant into the Southern Water Tribe." She responded with a blank look settled onto her features.

Kya watched as Nani's face crumbled. She wished she could reach out and clasp the woman's arm, pull her into a hug and just plead with her to see reason. She instead just bounced the baby slightly. Nani let out a shuddering breath before staggering to the tent flap. As she untied the leather straps holding it closed, she murmured quietly. Though it was silent enough in the tent that both women could hear her easily.

"This is the last time you'll ever see me."

Both women watched as she staggered out into the snowstorm, the woman disappearing into the howling winds.

And the baby?

He cried.

* * *

**_91 AG_**:

It was time for the naming ceremony in the village. All the children aged around the age of two winters, would be taken to have their name given to them. A painfully small number, as many children did not survive until the naming ceremony.

It was a tradition that had been instilled hundreds of years ago, and it marks one of the most important days of a person's life within the Southern Water Tribe. Kya was finally ready to bring another child into their family.

Except for one thing was missing.

"Hakoda I asked you to watch the baby for a few moments! How did you lose him?" She asked, as she flipped over bundles of furs and checked underneath a basket. Anywhere small enough for a small child to hide would be fair game.

The man gave a sheepish look, as he too franticly searched. "I just turned around for a moment! I swear I-"

"Mom, dad, what's going on?" Kya looked over, seeing Sokka carrying the toddler in his arms. The boy seemed to be struggling with the weight of the child but didn't set him down. The boy hissed when the toddler laughed and pulled on his wolf-tail.

Kya sighed in relief, scooping up the toddler and pressing a kiss to the crown of Sokka's head. "Where was he this time?"

"He was trying to climb up the snow walls." The child replied. Meanwhile the toddler just smiled widely, his pale blue eyes taking on an innocent look. "I didn't let him though! I'm a good big brother!" He puffed out his chest, looking proud of himself.

Kya laughed and ruffled Sokka's hair. "Thank you for keeping such a good eye on him Sokka. Where is Katara?"

"She's with Gran-Gran. They were heading to the gathering." He bounced some on his heels in excitement. "So, the baby is finally getting a name?"

The mother just nodded and pulled her son close, as she led them out of the tent. Hakoda putting an arm around Kya's shoulders as they went to meet up with his mother in the main courtyard. "Indeed, but only if we aren't late. Now come on."

There were only four this year, four children that made it to the age of two winters. It was sad, as seven had been born. Kya looked over at the toddler in her arms, he stared at her with a grin before babbling and patting her cheek with a wet hand from slobber. She couldn't help but let out a small chuckle.

Though every time she looked at him, she couldn't help but see Nani's hurt eyes.

Two years, and she was still gone. No one knew where she went that night, or if she was still even alive. Hakoda seemed to sense her guilt and squeezed her shoulder softly. She smiled at her husband and pressed a small kiss to his lips. Sokka made a gagging noise, and Hakoda's chest rumbled softly against her in laughter.

"You know Sokka, one day- you're going to meet a pretty girl who you want to kiss." Hakoda told his son. The man lifting Sokka up onto his hip. The boy just scrunched up his face in disgust. Kya just playfully slapped her husband's arm.

"The naming ceremony isn't going to start itself." She remarked playfully.

He gave a mock sigh before stealing another kiss from Kya and setting Sokka down. "Right, I guess that's my cue."

As Sokka, Kya, and the baby met up with Katara and Kanna, Hakoda stepped into the center of the congregation of people. As the acting chief, he would be the one that would hold the ceremony.

Being the second youngest of the group based on the month in which he was born, the baby was the second last to be named. After the mothers told the first two their children's names, Hakoda acknowledged them and gave a small speech. It was then that Kya was brought forward. As Kya handed the baby over, she smiled.

"And in the presence of the spirits, what do you say will be this child's name?"

"Kauri. His name is Kauri."

Hakoda then lifted the toddler in the air. "The spirits acknowledge this request, welcome- Kauri of the Southern Water Tribe." After returning the baby to Kya's arms, he marked the child with some dark colored paint. The dark charcoal color standing out on the toddler's pale skin.

As Kya returned to Kanna and the children- her smile faltered slightly at the deep-set frown in Kanna's wrinkled features. Sokka though, broke the small staring contest by reaching for Kauri. "I have a brother now! Good, he can take Katara's place."

Katara wrinkled her nose and blew a raspberry at him.

She pulled all three of her children into a hug. "Family doesn't work like that Sokka, we're all in this together now- like it or not." She shot a look over to Kanna, showing who her words were intended for. The older woman just turned away.

That's what they were now.

A family.

* * *

_**94 AG**_:

In the months after Kya's death, it left her family shaken, if not downright shattered. Katara was inconsolable and wouldn't eat. Sokka was angry, angry at the firebenders; angry at himself…angry at everyone- and Kauri felt helpless while watching his family fall apart. He was only five and he's lost everything.

Sokka took utmost gravity in the task that Hakoda placed upon him- he was gone, too focused on watching for more Fire navy ships. Too withdrawn into his own mind to comfort his younger siblings. Katara was too distressed to even take care of herself. Kauri just missed them both with a terribly fierce ache in his chest.

Not only did he lose his mother in that day, he also lost his sister, his brother, and his father. Even if they weren't truly gone, they still felt too far from his reach.

And then, as if to add to it all-

The whispers came.

Slowly at first, like a trickling stream. Then loudly and brazenly like a roaring waterfall.

'Isn't that Nani's child?' _He had no idea who this 'Nani' woman was- but she wasn't his mother. Kya was. _'I heard she killed herself by walking out into the wasteland during a snowstorm. All so she wouldn't have to live with the fact she birthed him.'

The next rumors were worse. 'Nani birthed him nine months after a raid, didn't she? Such pale skin- and black hair. You don't think that he's part firenation, do you?'

'If so, I can't imagine her pain. Giving birth to a monster.'

He tried to talk to the others, to find some consolation anywhere- but when the others in the tribe looked at him; he could tell they were thinking about those nasty little whispers. Wondering if they were true. After a while, he gave up.

_Monster, monster, monster. _

He wondered too.

The opposite of how a flower would bloom, he withdrew into himself. He wilted in the cold. He couldn't help but think of the differences between himself, and his siblings. Or himself, and his parents.

It wasn't until he overheard Kanna talking to another woman, that the truth came crashing upon him.

He had crawled out of the tent when he heard Katara whimpering in her sleep. He'd tried to console her through her nightmares before, but she lashed out. She apologized after, but he didn't make the same mistake twice. Sokka's sleeping mat was still empty, and cold to the touch with not a single ounce of body heat left behind, no doubt his brother was still sitting on the walls on the outskirt of the village and watching the horizon. Sokka has been getting less sleep lately. Maybe he's avoiding the nightmares by staying awake.

Kauri had staggered outside the tent, pulling on his jacket before sitting down outside of their sleeping tent which was right next to Kanna's. There was still a faint flickering of firelight still in her tent, along with noises of shuffling. So, he doubted she was asleep.

Suddenly he heard voices from inside the tent.

"Kanna-" It was one of the female villagers. "You were there that night, weren't you?"

He heard the elder woman sigh. "I have lived through many nights, Mazuri, you will have to be specific about which one."

There was more shuffling, before he heard the younger woman's voice again. "The night that Nani left the village." Her voice sounded tense, like only a mere moment away from cracking into a soft cry. "The night that she went into the snowstorm."

"Yes." Kanna stated tersely.

The younger woman let out a small shocked breath, and Kauri held his own as he leaned closer to Kanna's tent. "Is it true, what they say about the boy Kya raised? Was he Nani's, conceived from the raid? Was he truly born part firenation? Is that why she… left?" Kauri's heartbeat thundered in his ears.

There was a long pregnant pause of silence where the only sound Kauri could hear was his own fluttering pulse, and the whistling winds.

"Yes. It's true." There was another long pause. "I should have told Kya outright that she should have left him in the snowstorm instead. Maybe then Nani would still be with us." A deep sadness lingered in her voice.

Kauri leapt up from his spot in the snow, staggering back as if he'd just been burned. His eyes were wide. He stared in disbelief for a moment, waiting for anything. His hands balled into fists; his whole frame was trembling. He had no idea how long he stood there, but the only thing that spurred him to move was when Mazuri opened Kanna's tent to leave. Both women caught him outside the tent. The younger woman leveled him with a scowl, and Kanna just gave a frown.

As soon as he was faced with their rejection- crashing into him like massive pushing tides- he ran.

Tents passed in a blur, and it wasn't long before he ran straight out of the exit of the snowy walls. The wind whipped at his short hair. Idly he thought he might have heard Sokka's voice calling out to him, but that couldn't be. Sokka would hate him if he knew what he was. Katara would too. They would reject him just like Kanna did.

The snow crunched under foot- and he sprinted until he physically couldn't anymore. Where each step sent pain ricocheting through his body- until the cold air burned his lungs, and until the tears on his face turned to frost.

Collapsing to his knees in the snow- he looked at his hands.

They were alit… with _crackling orange flames_.

**_MONSTER, MONSTER, MONSTER, MONSTER. _**

And Kauri?

He cried.

* * *

**A/N: Hey everyone! I wrote this as a mostly self-indulgent piece. I wanted to try and attempt to craft an OC for one of my favorite shows. I'm not sure if I'll be continuing this- but if anyone likes it then I might! Review and let me know what you think so far, should I continue this? Should I get rid of it and never have it see the light of day again? Do you hate it? Love it? Let me know. Otherwise, this will be a standalone.**


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